Board for larger Bells and Winki etc

ring maurice cole or wayne lynch for a custom, cant beat local knowledge.

Ditto what Vic said.

How much over 5 foot? If you're just looking for a step up you can get plenty of second handies in the shops. If you want to go a custom (preferred) see the info above (good luck if you can find maurice's chook shed) or see Mark Phipps at Pt Lonsdale.

All can make a good Bells/Winki gun if that's what you're after.

mark phipps, yep couldnt recall his name, makes a nice indo gun as well.

Guess your talking 8 foot? email 9actory@mauricecole.com. I love his Metro out at high tide Rincon. Good luck getting a Wayne Lynch though, there would be a bit of a wait. I prefer riding small boards at Bells and Winkis but the guys who get the bombs are on some serious length.

While Mick likes riding short boards in bigger surf, I think the use of a bigger board (I took a 6'8' for 6-8ft surf last year) helps you chase down some of the waves around the lineup at Bells, Winki to a lesser extent.

With the bigger board you can also get into them earlier and at size they perform (ie turn and respond) just like your normal shorty in 3-5ft surf but just over a much bigger and more drawn out playing field.

Again though Maurice or Mark will be able to help you out more.

Corey Graham

I have a s/hand 7'2" quad for $200, it is well worn but still goes great, one of the best boards I have had, but I have had the replacement for nearly a year now and it's just as good.Goes good at winki and is loose for it's size.pm me if your interested.

Comes with a near new boardcover too

what brand is that 7'2 mr crustt? and some more dimensions.

Go for a JD (Josh Dowling) local shaper Craftsman!!! http://www.joshdowlingshape.com

At size Denhooi, Bells has plenty of punch and power and I had no problem generating or keeping speed with a thinner Diverse 6'8". Sure when it's 3-4ft or below you may want a bit more volume, but yeah give Maurice a bell (pardon the pun).

Looks like MC might be a busy man...

12 February, 2013 : - - Matt Biolos, of …lost International, has announced a new partnership with legendary surfboard designer Maurice Cole. Matt and his crew are planning to bring Maurice’s high powered design genius to a US audience for the first time in a generation.

Cole, who lives and shapes at Bells Beach in Australia, is renowned as one of the world’s great surfer-shapers whose designs are go-to craft for some of the world’s most selective and committed surfers. His boards have won ASP WCT events under the feet of Tom Curren, Kelly Slater and Taj Burrow, and turned the big wave experience upside down for the likes of Ross-Clarke-Jones and former “Eddie” champion Noah Johnson.

He is also a dramatic innovator, who pioneered reverse vee design with Curren in the early ‘90s, before developing his superconcave Metro and Pro-tow boards with the help of RCJ’s tow charging feedback. “From his days as a competitor, to the first Reverse Vee, to his work with so many tour surfers, the tow revolution and beyond, Maurice casts a tall shadow over the last generation of surfers,” says Biolos.

"Perhaps the biggest benefit of my chosen profession is that though the years it has occasionally afforded me the opportunity to work closely with some of the greatest and most influential surfers and surfboard designers of all time. Like MR (with his twins) and Simons (with his Thruster), MC’s designs, personal surfing exploits and his relationships with the top athletes of the era, are all legendary and culturally important.”

He goes on to explain how the collab came about while surfing Lower Trestles this fall. “I asked MC to make for me one of his current ‘Metro-3’ models. A radical beast with nearly 3/4" of concave under foot, and after riding it during one Lowers session together, I realized this man is not only still shaping and surfing (ripping), but still pushing design boundaries as hard as ever. On the walk back up the trail that afternoon, we hatched this collaboration…away we go!"

…lost will manufacture and distribute a seminal MC range throughout the continental US, including MC’s most influential designs, the classic Reverse Vee (or EEV), as well as his latest and most progressive Metro and Pro-tow superconcave series.

A launch party, and reception with be held in San Clemente, at Catalyst Surfshop (1755 N. El Camino Real) on Friday, Feb 22nd at 5pm. MC will be in attendance with a selection of his new and classic range of of designs, as well as a few of his original, iconic boards from the past.

Victor, it is 7'2" x 20" x 3" sounds like a bulky board but it isn't and it's fast and loose and paddles to waves and into waves well. It is shaped by Kirk Bierke in Ulladulla, he's the bloke that has been shaping Camels big wave boards of late. If I was getting one off of a local shaper I'd go Micheal Anthony.
$900 for a board from Maurice, no thanks.

Got a haydenshapes golden gun recently 6'8" and as I am a bit bigger I asked them to increase the volume a tad from the usual through width & thickness. Got an excellent amount of foam through the middle and a pulled in tail perfect for tube riding with decent rocker and concave. Its come out a treat but more for barreling waves I'm thinking great for winkipop but bells? As I dont have a bells type wave handy near home to comment on I'd love to find out (for my own surfboard design education) what characteristics are desirable for a Bells board? I have a friend who has a replica "Black Beauty" tom curren channel islands board - looks like a bit of a slug to me honestly but has good flat rocker for planing (a good characteristic?)

Crustt - $900 for a board is market price. Anything much less than this is people trying to work their way into the market or undercut from an external market (indonesia, thailand etc).
I used to get boards cheap through being a team rider when I was younger and then through knowing people. My belief now is that you get what you pay for and when shapers are expected to shape for mates rates this either goes to the bottom of the pile or is done quickly. I have a good career and income now and I am prepared to pay the right price for the major tool in one of the greatest joys of my life.

Mundies, $900 is high end retail price, most guys who get board off of a local shaper and create some sort of shaper/surfer relationship are paying 600 to 650.
What is wrong with a board that is made quickly, most of them are. Once a board is shaped its laminated, laminate does not actually dry so it does not sit around for very long before the plugs and the filler coat is done and the sander is going to do it as soon as he can, cause the longer you leave it the harder it is to sand. So how quickly a board is made does not affect the quality, bad Quality is more from technique and poor materials.
I pay mates rates, but mates rates to me is, I don't ask how much, I just pay on delivery what is asked, why would I want to screw him on his rate of pay? He's me mate.
I don't have a career, been to busy surfing and have bugger all income, I just pay what is asked and get great quality boards.
Patagonias the only shop I have ever seen $900 tag on a board.

Hey Mundie a $900 board with a model name has a lot of extra costs behind it. There's the ghost shapers to pay, the cutting fee for the CNC, the contract glassers, the advertising, the royalty fee to the logo, salesman, etc etc. Just look at what Maurice Cole was talking about with the Base collapse. The actual cost for materials aren't that great. Go to a shaper working out of his own factory and you have eliminated a lot of those extra expenses and so basically you can get a good board without the fluff attached to it, might not have a fancy name or endorsed by a pro but is still a good board and made no differently than the ones you are talking about

mick63, spot on mate, ghosty=$20 machine cut= $25-$45 contract glass up to $300 depending on board length ,glass weight, a 1 or 2 man operation can keep board costs around $670 -$750.

I'm happy to pay a good price for a good board especially when I know what I'm getting rather than being disappointed with a dud board.
My point was probably more directed at supporting the local industry rather than paying $370 for a low cost low quality board from Sideways.

Lots of good shapers in Torquool, denhooi, any of whom could shape you a great Bells board. (Don't forget Robbo and D'Sas at Strapper)

As a rule of thumb, I'd say go 4-5" longer than your shorty, maybe half inch wider and quarter inch thicker (don't hold me to it though, i'm no expert)

Rounded pin

I'd go the multi-dimensional transcendental spaceship that a certain underground shaper on the east coast conjures up out of his cosmic shed. Paddles into any slab like a 10' secures the bottom turn like 6'10" and shots down the line like a 7'4" Lopez lighting bolt. All like an acid dream.

He was gifted this talent by the North Shore gods when time began only to disappear like the mountain mists only to re-emerge years later in Australia with his shaping (3rd) eye sharper than ever.

If you want higher consciousness in your surfing go a prostrate yourself before the supreme shaping master.

I'd pay $900 for that.

Gosh denhooi here I was thinking I was being serious. Let me speak more clearly. Stop trolling the web and go and speak to any named shaper on the coast and he will fix you up with a shooter that will make you a happy man. Tich, Browny, the Strapper cats, Mr Rogers to name just a few. All live and surf @ Bells and have done so since you were a grommie.

Yes I could see Floyd was taking the piss for the reason stated. He is dead right, all the guys listed and even us lesser mortals on the peninsula have shapers who could turn these out in their sleep. The ones that use a machine have all the CAD details on file and can work from the volume of your boards and the waves you want to surf. None of them make duds any more, especially from a machine they are super accurate. Rockers, rails, curves, none of it is a great secret any more, just refinements.

Denhooi ,

I'm with Gannet ( almost exactly ) with dimensions and tail shape for what i would call " worthwhile " bells conditions .
Big question you'll have to ask yourself is how ugly surface conditions will you be willing to ride at when it goes O'head .
If your keen and will tackle every wind variation then bigger and thicker better .
But if your only keen to tackle those bigger days in only " the best conditions " then its amazing ( esp. when well committed ) what sizes and thickness / widths you can get away with .

For the aforementioned , less desirable conditions I've got an old Damien Bibic " Gash 7,6 that does well there , but has also seen it do well elsewhere a little more hollow ie : SA , NWA , SWA and Maxing Indo . But by far the best Boards surprisingly I've ridden there and other solid ViC locales has been a 6'8 , 18 '7/8 , 2'5/8 Mick Pierce rounded pin flat to slight vee , of note other shapers elsewhere have often noted the fine " chine " work also on said craft . Have had similar 6'8's and now a 6 '10 . All of which have had more of an old / classic widest point further forward than normal ( well before others made it cool " again " ) . The first 6'8 thats still surviving has at times kept its own when surrounded by guys on Rhino chasers , The extra forward volume has no doubt helped " get into 'em earlier and the combo of tail and bottom shape really helped me be able to attack the lip , and still maintain momentum on my backhand . Even on those fast walled quasi - centres/bowl days .
Now that we've finished Flattering the entire Vic surf industry . Can everyone go through and detail what they see as their best Bells board . and particularly what they felt made it so ?

Don't think there is a "best" board for bells Southy, as you say there is so many different waves out there. It gets labeled as a fat wave by those that have not surfed it good. I find it to be a very different wave to what it looks from up in the car park, get barreled through the bowl and you wont forget it. My best Bells board was a 6'3" double flyer , no nose pintail twin fin shaped by Kieth Robinson, had heaps of great boards since but that one shone at Bells.
The best surfer I have seen at Bells would be Jeff King on twin fins, unlikely as it seems twinnies and Bells are a good match, Mark Richards is another good example.

My favourite board at Biggish Bells (10ft+ outside the Bowl) was a 7'9" Brewer Sunset Mini-gun shaped by Owl Chapman.

Rode it with wind and bump and and it was like riding a pimped out cadillac on the autobahn. So smooth on the high-line into the down-carve with miles of projection on the bottom turn. The early paddle-in entry gives a ton of options on take-off.

Had a ton of fun on a 7'0" Bonzer5 Campbell Bros pintail one arvo, again with wind and bump.

Holy fcuk though that shoredump can give you a caning down near Winki

Rode a 9'6" vintage '68 Klemm Bell at Bells one arvo in the 80s (8' solid & offshore), and haven't surfed a better board there since, so it just goes to show. That thing lifted up its' skirts and went like a cut-cat,beautiful power carves & positive in the pit. Agree with Crustt about Kingy too - amazing to watch him do his thing in the bowl when it was on. Nice bloke too.